


coffee beans and shy glances

by yuwins



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Café, Fluff, M/M, dowoo, markhyuck, only slight mention of markhyuck tho, we love cute boys!!, wooyoung - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 16:31:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19794712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuwins/pseuds/yuwins
Summary: a timid Jungwoo takes a job as a barista in Doyoung's new café





	coffee beans and shy glances

Today was Jungwoo’s first day at his job at the new coffee shop a block from his apartment. Since he was little, he had trouble socializing with people, which led him to do poorly in school and having no friends. Fully-aware that his shyness would prevent him from moving forward in life, he decided he would finally get himself out in the real world and find a job. Of course, he had to take things one step at a time, so he chose a work environment he would be comfortable with. He was close to home and he would spend his time brewing coffee and making pastries. He found it odd, though, that he was the only worker hired. This meant that it would just be him and his boss, Doyoung. The idea of being the only employee both relieved and terrified him. On one hand, he wouldn’t need to speak to other employees, but on the other, Doyoung would have his full attention on him. 

Jungwoo shook his head softly, trying to get the worry out of his mind, and walked into the café. The soft music and warm atmosphere hit him at once and he couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed at the realization that soon, it would be bustling with customers. Immediately, a man, presumably Doyoung, walked straight to Jungwoo with a warm smile. “You must be Jungwoo.” The first thing Jungwoo noticed about his boss is that he was extremely handsome. He had an intimidatingly friendly presence, but yes, very handsome. “Yes sir,” Jungwoo responded in a quiet voice. Doyoung was taken aback by how soft-spoken his new employee was. He was adorable. Doyoung cleared his throat, choking a little. Jungwoo found him to be quite awkward but he didn’t think much of it. They stood at the entrance for about 30 long and silent seconds before Doyoung realized he’s the one in charge. “Let’s get started,” Doyoung quickly gathered his thoughts and walked rapidly deeper into the shop, prompting Jungwoo to scurry after him. 

Doyoung spent the entire week teaching him how to brew different recipes, how to ice the pastries, and how to approach customers. Needless to say, Jungwoo made a ton of mistakes during his training. He mixed up the recipes, spilled a bunch of coffee everywhere, cracked delicate pastries, and tripped over himself countless times while practicing walking with his hands full of dishes. At one point, he sat on the floor behind the counter, laying his head in the crevice of his knees. He tried his best to not tear up, but he was just so frustrated. Doyoung plopped himself down next to him and patted Jungwoo’s head. This caused Jungwoo to look up at his boss with glassy eyes. The embarrassment hit him suddenly and he frantically wiped his eyes dry and sniffed softly. While he wiped his face, he had spread powdered sugar across his cheek and nose. Doyoung sat there in awe of the shy boy who looked indescribably adorable with his artificially sweetened rosy cheeks. He wanted to wipe Jungwoo’s face clean, but he stopped himself, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. Plus, he looked like a piece of art and Doyoung would hate to mess with perfection. 

It was a lot to learn in 5 days, but the Monday after would be the shop’s official opening day so Jungwoo felt pressured to grasp every bit of information given to him. To say he was extremely nervous was an understatement. He did feel guilty about his nerves, though, after all, it Doyoung’s big day, not his. When the Monday morning came, Doyoung could notice Jungwoo’s silent panic and took that as an excuse to place his hand on the younger’s shoulder in an attempt to calm him. “Don’t mess up today,” he teased him and then walked to the front door. 

“Don’t mess up today,” the words lingered in Jungwoo’s mind, replaying over and over again. His manic thinking, however, was interrupted by Doyoung counting down. “Three…two…” he flipped the “NOW OPEN” sign and sighed. “One,” came out as a whisper, his mouth forming into a wide smile. Jungwoo had unconsciously ducked down behind the counter and was quietly peeking at the door. When Doyoung turned and saw Jungwoo’s soft hair and wide eyes looking up at him he felt his heart skip a beat. It was at this moment that he realized he had developed a small crush for his cute and clumsy employee. He could see a slight blush creep up on Jungwoo’s soft cheeks and quickly looked away, not wanting to embarrass him with his staring. 

Jungwoo had his head laid on his forearm, making his cheeks look even fluffier. “Business is going pretty slow,” Jungwoo mumbled with a small pout. “Jungwoo, we opened 10 minutes ago,” Doyoung responded, laying his head on the counter in the same position so he could be facing him. Jungwoo felt his heart stop when he could feel the warmth radiating off Doyoung’s face with only a few centimeters separating them. He gulped and nervously looked away from Doyoung’s eyes. Catching on to Jungwoo’s nervousness, Doyoung turned his head towards the entrance of the shop. “And it’s just the first day. We shouldn’t expect a whole crowd to barge in at the opening time.” 

And for a few weeks business was slow, a couple of people coming in to buy donuts and coffee early in the morning every day and that was about it. It wasn’t until famous food critic Kun appeared at the shop that tons of people flooded the small café. Kun had written a generous review on Doughboys Café, praising the warm aura and delicious pastries that Doyoung baked and the wonderful coffee that Jungwoo brew.

2 months since the café’s grand opening had passed, the business was doing great and Jungwoo had finally gotten the hang of running around with fragile things in his hands, averaging to only 5 drops a week, which, considering Jungwoo’s track record, is actually impressive. 

There was a time in which both Jungwoo and Doyoung had fallen asleep at the Café while cleaning up at night. While Jungwoo was still very shy, the two had gotten pretty close. Jungwoo was able to talk freely to Doyoung but he would often get flustered looking him directly in the eye because, over time, he began to have feelings for the older. When the realization that he was in love with Doyoung hit Jungwoo, he felt trapped in his own negative thoughts. He decided to avoid his boss at all costs. Jungwoo was terrified of rejection and he did not want to ruin the best friendship he ever had. So, he began to call in sick. It was strange to Doyoung because Jungwoo NEVER missed work. He began to miss so many days that Doyoung had to hire another barista because there was no way he could handle running such a popular café all on his own. Mark was still young, but he had experience with brewing since he had worked at another café prior to Doughboys so naturally, hiring him went smoothly for Doyoung.

After 2 weeks of from not hearing from Jungwoo, Doyoung decided to call him. He had been worried sick but didn’t want to bother him. Perhaps there was a tragedy in his family, or he’s been going through something serious, millions of excuses ran through his mind, but he never once thought that the reason would be because Jungwoo loves him. When the call went straight to voicemail, Doyoung frowned, wishing he knew if his friend was okay. He then sent him a text. And then another. And another. 

DY: Jungwoo are you okay?  
DY: You haven’t come in a while  
DY: It feels different without you.

Doyoung almost sent a text saying, “I miss you,” but he decided against it, not wanting to freak Jungwoo out. He sighed and then put his phone into his pocket. Would he ever see those soft cheeks again? He didn’t want to think about it anymore. He put on his apron and went back to decorating his baked goods. 

Jungwoo hiccupped as he read the texts Doyoung sent him, letting the tears hit his pillow. “I’m so stupid. How could I fall for my boss?” He reprimanded himself constantly since he realized his feelings for Doyoung. He missed him so much, but he had to stay away. He couldn’t let this get in the way of his career or his friendship. He didn’t plan on never speaking to Doyoung again, he was just waiting until his feelings disappeared and then he could go back to work, say there’s been an accident and then everything can go back to the way it was before. 

A few days later Jungwoo had finally stopped crying. Doyoung had been sending him texts and leaving him voicemails every day but at some point, he stopped reading and hearing them. He decided he could suck it up and return to work, he had bills to pay after all. He told himself he no longer liked Doyoung to cope with this, but that was a lie. Though he was in denial, he was still madly in love with the elder’s gummy smile, his shiny eyes, his soft hair, his dainty hands. The list goes on and on. Either way, Jungwoo was at the stage in which he was numb to the sadness, so he felt he was in the position in which he could work again. He didn’t even bother to hide his dark eye circles or puffy eyes, he just set out to Doughboys famous café. He entered the shop that was relatively calm so early in the morning and felt a wave of peace as the warm air made contact with his flushed face. His eyes darted to 2 figures sitting on the shop’s sofa. It was Mark and Doyoung, laughing. Jungwoo stood in silence staring at the two. Suddenly, all the feelings came back to him. When he felt tears threatening to fall, he dashed for the exit but Doyoung was faster. He grabbed a hold on Jungwoo’s arm and pulled him back. Mark took this as a sign to get lost, so he made his way into the kitchen where he wouldn’t be a nuisance. Jungwoo had his back facing Doyoung, but his shivering was clearly visible. Doyoung knew he was about to cry. After all the time they spent together, he knew Jungwoo cried easily and was very sensitive. He pulled Jungwoo’s arm back again, engulfing him into a hug. Jungwoo broke down in sobs, hiccupping and gasping for air as tears hit Doyoung’s apron. Doyoung rubbed Jungwoo’s back with one hand while the other was supporting his head. “shhh, it’s okay Jungwoo,” he whispered, kissing Jungwoo on the side of his head right above his ear. Doyoung pulled back, still holding Jungwoo, and looked at his face. His eyes were red from crying, his cheeks pinks, and a little bit of drool trailed down his chin. He was a wreck, but a beautiful one. Doyoung grazed his thumb under Jungwoo’s eyes, wiping away his tears. Something he never had the courage to do before. He held Jungwoo’s face in his hands, he wasn’t going to let him look away this time. Jungwoo kept sniffling as tears pricked his eyes. “Why are you running away from me?” Jungwoo stayed silent. After a few moments, he breathed out, “I love you.” It was a simple and soft confession, but it hit Doyoung like a million bricks. Doyoung said nothing, but he didn’t have to because right after those words sunk in, he pressed his lips against Jungwoo’s. The kiss was sweet, gentle, and lasted for about 5 seconds. Both of them could feel fireworks go off in their bodies. The feeling was something neither of them had ever felt before. Once their lips were apart, Doyoung leaned his forehead against Jungwoo’s. “I love you too.” It got really quiet until Jungwoo spoke up again, “but that guy you were with.” Doyoung looked at Jungwoo with wide eyes and then realized Jungwoo must think they are together or something. “NO! I mean, no. Mark is just an employee I hired after you stopped coming to work…we are just friends.” Jungwoo made an ‘O’ with his mouth and nodded, wiping the last bit of moisture from his eyes. 

Soon enough, Jungwoo was back to working regularly at Doughboys. He and Doyoung had gotten even closer after their confessions, stealing small pecks from each other every so often during the day. One day, Jungwoo poked Doyoung’s cheek softly while he was reading the newspaper prompting Doyoung to hum in response. “Are we boyfriends?” Jungwoo shyly spoke, caressing Doyoung’s cheek. Doyoung immediately put his paper down and looked at Jungwoo with the biggest gummy smile and sparkly eyes. “Of course we are,” he planted a kiss on the top of Jungwoo’s head. 

As for the coffee shop, Doyoung decided to keep Mark since he was doing so well, and the customers seemed to love him. Mark and Jungwoo had become close friends as well and everything felt in place. “When did you know you liked Doyoung?” The younger pressed Jungwoo for answers on their relationship. Mark had a little crush himself on some other kid name Donghyuck and he was eager to know everything there is about romance. Jungwoo told Mark the story of the time the business was still fairly new, and he wasn’t exactly the best at running around with cups of coffee. He had slipped and fallen on his bottom, breaking the mug he was carrying. He had cut himself on the hand with the broken glass. Doyoung rushed to his side and helped him clean the wound and bandage it up. “He was so gentle with me,” Jungwoo whispered, laughing softly. “I think he felt shy too because instead of giving me a kiss directly on the cut, he first kissed his finger and then touched my hand with that finger. It was sweet.” Mark watched Jungwoo talk about his experience with big curious eyes, it sounded like a fairy tale to him. Jungwoo could feel his voice quiver from the immense love he felt for Doyoung, so he changed the topic to avoid crying again. “Now you tell me about Donghyuck,” he scooted closer to Mark, ready to hear the story. “Wait for me!” Doyoung sprinted across the café and threw himself on the couch, huddling the 3 of them together in his arms.

**Author's Note:**

> hii! thanks for reading! I was initially planning on making the story a little longer but I felt it was at the point in which I had to wrap it up. Please support me with kudos! it's greatly appreciated <3
> 
> You could always message me on twitter @dobunny127 and I'll do my best to respond :D


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